Karolina Pliskova advances at Rogers Cup when opponent retires

TORONTO — Karolina Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rogers Cup on Thursday when Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka was forced to retire because of an injury.

The world’s top-ranked player moved on with a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 1-0 victory when Osaka had to retire because of an abdominal injury.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Osaka suffered the injury. She was in form during the tiebreaker, firing a service winner to convert her second set point under the warm sun at Aviva Centre.

Pliskova came out strong to open the third set and Osaka called for a trainer at the changeover. She briefly stretched out on the hardcourt before the decision was made.

World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova will face sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the Rogers Cup quarterfinals after her third-round opponent, Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka, was forced to retire because of an injury. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

The world’s No. 50 player received treatment after the match and did not speak to reporters.

Also, Caroline Garcia of France advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 win over American CiCi Bellis, and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic moved on with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.